Thursday July 9, 7 pm was the time set aside for WineWench and I to attend a wine dinner at Elements Kitchen and Martini Bar as part of our semi-regular get-togethers with TraderJoesLV and “The Foodie Group”.
TraderJoesLV arranges a Prix Fixe menu with local eateries, and usually between 40-60 people show up for the event. Cost is between $60-$75 and includes wine and gratuity.
Elements is located at 4950 S. Rainbow Blvd, near the intersection of Tropicana and Rainbow. It’s a cozy little place and in this case we took over the entire dining area. Catherine and Jose Luis Pawelek are the chefs/owners, and were our hosts throughout the evening. Their other claim to fame is bar menu with over 250 different martinis!! WineWench was ecstatic.
We started off at the bar, where WineWench sampled a CHA CHA CHA, consisting of Smirnoff Raspberry, Vanilla, Orange, triple sec, OJ, pineapple,cranberry juice, and lime juice, while I enjoyed a Tenaya Creek nut brown ale. As more guests arrived, the first course was served at the bar, a Trio Bruschetta consisting of a classic bruschetta, a mushroom medley and a pork pate. This was served with a Cremant de Bourgogne, Brut Reserve, Blanc de Blanc from France.
Once everyone arrived, we all took our seats and the evening got underway. TraderJoesLV described the wines served during each course and Catherine the food. Our next course was a Samosa Purse, consisting of chanterelles, morels, and champignons sauteed with baby courgette, aubergine, and onion, tossed with cumin and yellow masala curry in a puff pastry tied with chive. This was served with an in-house roasted red bell pepper cream sauce. This was accompanied with a Castinera, Albarino, Rio Baixas, from Spain. The purse was light and delicious, and the wine complemented the flavors of the curry and sauce very well.
Next was a Boston Bibb Salad topped with caramalized fennel, sliced asian pear, Chevre, mandarin and a Blood Orange aged Modena Balsamic vinagrette. Now WineWench is not a big fan of goat cheese, but she said that the Chevre was a nice part of the salad, and well worth eating. The wine paired with this course was a Vin-Koru Sauvinnon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand. Now I don’t really care for most Sauvignon Blancs, as they are normally way too grapefruity for my tastes, and my first sip of this wine confirmed my normal dislike of this varietal. Happily the salad ingredients went a long way toward mediating the citrus quality of the wine and actually made it enjoyable.
Coming up next was a Ceviche Martini: Shrimp, scallops and mussels in a marinade of citron, minced red onion, red and green bell pepper with a touch of chile and mint. This was served in a martini glass and was accompanied by a slice of fried plantain. For those of you that are a little squaemish about “raw” seafood, fear not. The 24-hour marinade “cooked” the seafood to perfection. A glass of Chateau des Cleons Muscadet Sur Lie fromm France’s Loire Valley was an able match.
The main course was a perfectly done duck confit, braised with blackberries, finished with a Septima malbec, served over chipotle Vermont maple syrup-infused sweet potato mash, with baby asparagus and ratattouille. The ’07 Dry Creek Valley Sonoma Reserve Cabernet Sauvingon was excellent, and brought out the berries and spice in the duck.
Dessert was a medley, served on a plate meant to be shared by two. It included a dark/white chocolate mousse, white chocolate-dipped fresh strawberries with Zabaglione and berries, a cream cheese flan with a butterscotch glaze, and my favorite, dark chocolate raspberry-habanero truffles with lemon anisette biscotti dipped in butterscotch. We had a choice of dessert wines, either a Paso Robles Evenus Zin Port or a Losen-Bockstanz Riesling Beerenauslese from Mosel Germany, both of which were excellent.
We were now nearing the 4-hour mark of eating, drinking, and socializing, and it was getting time to head home. As we were leaving we were given some cards that will provide us with complimentary drinks and desserts on our next visit, as well as a copy of the menu. It was then that I discovered that Tuesday nights are Osso Buco night, so we are already planning a return visit.
...And This Is Why We Drink™